Miss Manners, who has never hesitated to man the barricades in defense of courtesy and consideration among friends, acquaintances, and business associates, steps out in her Wellingtons in setting guidelines for civilized behavior at home. Nevertheless, she tries nobly to defend the idea of home as warm refuge against the harsh world and deplores the current trend to substituting entertainment center for cheery hearth, parties as opportunities for professional advancement instead of “family merriment,” and baking bread instead of breaking bread. As always, Martin (Miss Manners’ Basic Training: The Right Thing to Say, 1998, etc.) is direct, pungent, and to the point. For instance, addressing the question “Why can’t private life be organized on a more businesslike basis?,” Miss Manners opines: “Because it’s not a business. You can’t fire the children.” She bravely continues, in the familiar format combining short essays on the pros and cons of modern family life with questions and answers from her “Gentle Readers,” to address such matters as how to deal with step-relatives, ex-relatives, relatives who have long-term relationships with married men, and getting along with neighbors. Some questions concerning blended and extended families deserve her serious consideration. Others, such as whether to close the bathroom door in view of dinner guests (an issue of “middle class morality”), leaves the reader—as it leaves Miss Manners—quite concerned about a generation that must consult an expert about whether or not to leave the bathroom door open or closed. Similar questions include serving the soup or the salad first or whether having a close friend’s child push for a charitable donation is appropriate. Miss Manners hopes that television is not dictating etiquette, but that homes are founded on “respect, generosity, hospitality and shared time and resources.” Miss Manners’s readers may find assistance here in establishing those parameters.
Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70165-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
